Why are we here again.

Sam shivered as he crossed the grounds, pulling his thick traveling cloak as tight around himself as he made the trip to the forbidden forest.

He wasn't really sure what he'd done wrong to warrant... whatever this was. Sure, he'd whispered across the isle to Rhys asking her how long it was until lunch, and sure she may have replied, but that hardly warranted venturing out of the safety and comfort of the castle to travel... well, at least around the forest, he really wasn't sure what they were going to be doing, but the Forest did have a bad vibe about it.

There was a feeling of guilt in him for dragging Rhys down with him too, though she probably would've spoken to him eventually, friends can rarely effectively shut up whilst listening to stupid "Grown up" people blabbing on about magical theory...

He also felt a bit bad about having left the common room without her, but he'd forgotten to make plans to leave together, and so it was for that reason that he was walking alone tonight.

"Hello?" he called out uncertainly, wondering if perhaps Professor Barker or Rhys... or perhaps even both were there already.

"I'm late.. I'm late, for a very important date, no time to say hello goodbye, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late." Rhys huffed under her breath as she half sprinted down the stairs, taking corners dangerously fast, and at one point, nearly running down a kid in the hallway. "I'm sorry!" Rhys half screeched as she tumbled around the next corner and down the main staircase into the Entrance Hall. She nearly fell forward, but caught herself on her hands and flung herself out into the grounds, sweat on her forehead, her breath coming in gasps. She could just make out Sam ahead of her, and she gasped in relief. Maybe she wasn't as late as she thought she was. Anyway, she took off down the lawns, before she was right behind Sam, she gasped out. "Sam, hold up.. hold up... I can't breathe... Merlin... I think I'm gonna die... hold on!" She grabbed ahold of his arm and leaned against it for support. "I thought I was... late.... Fell asleep... forgot... dorm mate.. work me up.. Merlin." Rhys stood up completely and put her hands behind her head, gasping for breath. "Wow... that was some run.... dangerous too, I nearly knocked a kid flat... fell over MULTIPLE times..." She laughed airily and then groaned and bent down again, crouching down so that she felt more stable.

"I don't think I've run so far or so fast EVER.... and I mean I run everyday... that was a workout." She gave a little dry cough, and then stood up completely and grinned at him. "I'm sorry.... about this whole.. detention thing... so not even fair.." She muttered and ran her hand through her hair before pulling a hairtie, she had grabbed but hadn't had time to put on, from around her wrist she pulled her hair back and grinned at Sam. "Shall we?" She asked finishing up pulling her hair back and extending her arm to him, bowing extravagantly. "Hopefully he doesn't murder us eh?" She giggled and nudged him with her hip before setting off down the grounds to where they had said they would meet with Barker.

[umm... I have a small question, do you want me to just... post multiple times... like, here I'd like for you to respond once, then I"ll post as Barker, but.. later, will it be... Rhys, Sam, Felix... then Rhys again? Or do you want me to just.. combine the posts so it's Me, you....?]

((Whatever suits you best really, I don't mind))

Sam felt himself tense up as a voice echoed across the grounds, originating from just behind him and scaring the living daylights out of himself before he recognised the voice. "Rhys?" He asked, before sighing audibly and instantly feeling himself relax.

"Oh thank god, you scared the living daylights out of me," he said with a smile. "Don't worry about it," he told her, "it's my fault anyway, but really I don't think we deserve this at all," he told her sourly, rolling his eyes before continuing across the grounds with her.

"I don't think he... it's here," he said spitefully. It was really quite unjust, in Sam's own opinion, for this to be happening, and two years ago, last year even, Sam would've gone to higher powers and complained, it just didn't make sense for such a low-ranking member of staff (though judging by what the papers were saying Barker might be higher than he looked) to be handing out such a hard punishment.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he's gonna ask us to go werewolf hunting, or to tramp out the acromantula colony. From what I know of him though it'll probably be worse," he said, trying to hide his growing concerns that those punishments could in fact be real by joking around.

[Well.. you'll be reading two posts together anyway I guess.. so I'll just post them both under Rhys... Hope that's okay]

Rhys couldn't help but giggle when Sam jumped. "Sorry." she giggled and looked around them. "It's okay, really... I don't mind.. I've never had detention before.. and at least we have each other right? Unless he separates us.. that would suck.. Maybe he'll only make us go on the outskirts of the forest.. and not go in there at all!" She said hopefully, her eyes scanning the dark recesses between the trees. She glanced nervously at the trees and wondered where their professor was anyway. He was a notorious woman beater. He kidnapped girls, locked them up for days, and when they got away from him.. well, they were never the same.. the stories about what went on were quite.. gruesome.. and she was sure some of the stories were even spread by Barker.

As they came up to the trees, she couldn't help but feel real concern over what was going on. What WAS he going to have them do? She felt herself walking closer to Sam, her bravery shrinking away for a moment, wanting nothing better then to run and hide from the menacing trees. The sun disappeared fully over the horizon, and it was obviously becoming night, especially under the trees, where the shadows were dark, and their breathing sounded ten times louder then it was, simply because of their proximity to the trees.

----
Felix:

The kids looked terrified from where he could see them below him. He had a game planned for them for their detention today, a game he knew they would... enjoy. A little, maze if you will. And he was rather excited to get started. They were a bit late, but there were ways to punish them for that later along in the night. At the moment, Felix sat on a broom, hovering out of sight from the children, but not so that he couldn't see their figures below him, but they couldn't make out his figure in the darkening sky. Black cloak working wonders to blend in with the night.

Carefully, he pointed his wand at his throat, and then at the two he had sentenced to detention with him that night. He made his voice sound like a sonorus, but only to them, so that it didn't go beyond the woods. Birds flew up in fear at his voice, but he didn't mind, better they didn't know where he was. "Good evening children.. you're detention tonight is a bit different then others you may have gone to." His voice came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and he enjoyed being completely unseen by the two below him.

"You have a simple task tonight... don't die." He said, his voice menacing sounding, his tone low and threatening. "Of course, that won't be as easy as you think it is... You see... there are many obstacles to tackle in this forest.. and you must stay the night in the forest.. one night, and you are free from detention. I will come for you at dawn... Here's the catch." His voice sounded, as he circled around the two from above. "There will be many obstacles set by me.. of course if you know your spells from school, they should be easy to handle.. but of course, here is the added concern, no hiding up a tree, or I will come for you personally.. and lets just say you will become my little pet for another detention." He said, it sounded as though he was smirking just by his voice.

"You may work together.. keep walking, and if you try to escape... I won't hesitate to kill your friends.." He whispered. "Oh... and one more thing.. if you speak a word about this detention to anyone... I will find what is more dear to you, the one thing that you love most, and I will kill it, kill them, and destroy you from the outside in.. until you end up as nothing more then a shadow of your old self...A shadow even you won't be able to recognize." Felix smiled to himself, and then decided to add in his challenge.

"You have one other challenge for the night... If you can find all ten golden trees during the course of the night, you will never serve another detention with me again... Happy hunting." He said and then pointed his wand at his throat again, cutting off communication from them, before he pointed his wand at the trees, and transfigured them alive, and they moved together, to form a barrier behind the two students, who were now locked inside the Forbidden forest for an entire night.

It was true, what she was saying, and Sam had to give a nervous little chuckle as he replied. "Definitely better," he agreed. "But we can only dream," he told her, "and I really don't think it'll come true," he said, a hollow tone resonating in his voice as his mind returned to the problem at hand.

Detention with professor Barker was starting to seem more and more foreboding, particularly as the nightlife of the Forest started to properly wake up, becoming more and more audible throughout the area. Surely he wouldn't... well, he seemed like the sort of person to do something horrible in the forest, like bury them alive, but who really knew? That's what it was - the unknown - that's what was scaring Sam the most.

It was on that note that Sam let out an ear-splitting yelp as a horribly familiar voice rang out in his ears, setting out some instructions before disappearing.

"Where is he?" He whispered a few seconds after the voice had disappeared, before tensing up once more as the trees behind them closed up, sealing them, and their fates into the forest.

"Well," he said slowly as his brain ticked over the information they'd been given, "At least we can stick together," he said with an attempt at a smile. "We just have to tackle whatever comes our way and we'll be fine," he added.

"Merlin.. we're going to die." Rhys whispered, looking around her after Barker's voice had told them what they were going to do. It took a few moments for it all to sink in, and by that time the noise of the forest kicked back on, and the sun sunk lower and lower, to the point where it really was getting very dark. "We're going to die Sam... we're going to die... I mean.. I'm not a fighter! I can't.. Merlin." Rhys looked around her for a moment, before realizing that they were going to have to get moving.

"Come on.. let's just.. walk.. we have to walk okay?" She said, and started into the forest, looking around her nervously. Things felt like they were popping out at them, and Rhys was sure that these... golden trees, they would be in the middle of the forest, in the most dangerous part of the forest. Ten of them.. in one night, obviously it was designed that in order to find them all, they had to quite literally go in the exact direction to get to them, there was no way. Maybe a little bit of leeway, but besides that.. they were doomed. "At least... we don't have to kill each other or something.." She whispered, and looked at him carefully. "I couldn't do it... I just.. I couldn't." She said frowning and then reaching out to take hold of his hand, needing a form of comfort, any form, to calm her nerves.

Sam stood there silently for a few seconds, listening to Rhys talk but barely taking in what she had to say, it sounded fairly remiss of how he was feeling and he was hearing enough of those thoughts in his own head to want to pay much attention. Besides, he had a plan to come up with.

He felt himself drawn out of his thoughts as a hand wrapped itself around his, feeling around for a second before fastening itself around his own hand, meeting a need which Sam hadn't realised he'd had until it had first made contact, but one which soon consumed him as he gripped it back smiling (though she probably couldn't see it) through the darkness of forest into the direction he'd known Rhys to be in.

"Come on," He said, taking the first steps along the path they had entered on, one which he hoped would take them the right direction. "If we follow the path we at least have a way to head back if it's not the right direction," he told her, not sure why he'd suddenly gone from... well, scared half to death, to his now confident state.

"And lets find those trees... never having a detention with Barker would be a brilliant perk," he said with a quiet chuckle.

Rhys didn't know how he did it. How he made himself seem much more confident then she felt. Sure they were Gryffindors, but come on! They were trapped in a death trap designed by the man who tortured people for fun! Rhys pulled out her wand and whispered, "Lumos." To light up the surrounding area, and she looked up at Sam, gripping his hand as hard as she dared, knowing that they both needed the contact, and she was to afraid to let go. She let him lead her along the path, her head turning at every noise.

How was he chuckling?! Her face was set in a tight scowl, her wand hand was shaking so bad the light kept bouncing around making everything seem ten times more likely to be moving, and she kept turning her head at sounds. "I don't know what's so funny.. but how.. I mean... Merlin." She gripped his hand harder and walked closer to him, focusing her mind on bringing up that legendary Gryffindor bravery. She was in Gryffindor was she not! And Goddammit she was gonna show it! Specially in the face of danger! She forced her hand to stop shaking first, putting all her energy into keeping her hand still, and the light stopped bobbing up and down.

After the light stopped moving around, she realized her hand had his in a death grip, but she couldn't let go, so she focused next on loosening the grip. Letting him pay attention as she sorted her own thoughts out, gathering her courage, clearing her mind, it was a step by step process, and she needed to get herself under control or she wouldn't be any help later on. "Sam..." She said softly, her voice low so as not to startle anything in the trees around them. "Should we walk quicker? I mean.. who knows how far the trees are from each other.. he's not going to make it easier!! But if we go to fast, we'll get to tired..." She said softly, her hand gripping harder again before she forced herself to loosen the grip. His hand in hers sure was a comfort, but she knew that if she broke his fingers, they would be in a lot worse troubles.

Sam felt Rhys' hand tighten just a little further in his own, reassuring him that she was in fact there and helping to settle his own nerves, and giving him a little more courage to continue down the path on his way to... well, he didn't know what.

He glanced over to his travelling partner and couldn't help but let a burst of laughter escape from his lips as he saw the angry expression on her face, timed perfectly to match her... well, angry's not quite the best word, but it was perfectly to match her outburst. "Well, you've gotta look at things positively. We're not alone, we're not dead... yet... and we have the chance of a lifetime to not ever have to do this, no offence, again in our lives." He said, his face firm but a slight tremor in his voice betraying the undeniable fear he held.

"That's better," he said as her hand tightened around his, oh what a time for a double entendre, "I can see the path now," he told her, glancing all around as he did so.

"Calm down, getting worked up is the worst thing we can do," he told her, his voice serious for once.
"Hey, what's that," he exclaimed, looking to their 9 o'clock distance.

Rhys glared at him when he laughed, just like him, find this FUNNY.... but her hand gripped his harder, and when he exclaimed about seeing something, she froze, her wand pointed at it, before she noticed that it was something light up ahead. "Oh.. that easy? He must want us to get them or something." She said frowning, before stepping forward hesitantly, before she picked up her pace, still gripping his hand hard, the path ended, but Rhys kept walking towards the light, and suddenly they were in the midst of a magnificent golden tree. It gave off a shining aura, and the whole clearing was lit up by the giant tree.

Rhys stared in awe. "It's beautiful.." She whispered and walked forward, touching the tree. Suddenly a voice boomed out from over head. "Rhys, One tree down.." She jumped and fell backwards, tripping on her own feet, and staring up at the sky. It almost sounded prerecorded, and she suddenly realized that they EACH had to get the trees, they couldn't split up to get them or anything. She groaned and laid on the ground for a bit. "One tree down.. you touch it Sam.." She said hauling herself to her feet and looking at him, as she dusted off her pants, and grabbed up her wand from where she dropped it, only to not find it there. "Sam.. did you grab my wand?" She asked looking up at him fearfully.